Living in the moment
by CoreOfUnix
Summary: That must be one of the few perks of his carefree attitude and the reason she was able to enjoy her happily ever after by his side. And here they both believed that everything they went through before reaching this moment, before finally feeling this completeness, the past… Nothing of it mattered. Until a mystrerious figure stepped into their lifes. (Full summary inside)
1. Chapter 0

**Hey guys! This is the prologue chapter for my new story: Living in the moment. Just so you guys could tell me if it's good enough and if I should keep going with this. I'm pretty new in this fandom, so your impressions are quite important and feedback will allways be wellcome. Don't worry, I don't mind any kind of criticism, whether harsh or not. So feel free to speak your mind with no restraint!**

**I'll also, use this oportunity to talk a bit about the particular gender of the story and it's prospect. So this A/N might be a little long. Sorry about it:**

**As you'll see in the few next chapters, this story is a mix of everything, I'll be listing the genres from the most dominant to the less:**

**-Mystery: I promise not to kill you with cliffhangers. I personnaly hate them. But as the story progress you'll be confronted to more mysteries. Remeber though that I'm a student engineer and believe me when I say that I hate illogical turns of events, so everything I will write will have a reason.**

**-Suspence: don't kill me yet, wait until you judge if it's worth it.**

**-Angst: the start will be quite "happy" and even have a touch of humor to it, but I like emotional characters, so this story will be getting more gloomy and dark with every chapter.**

**-Romance: I'm sorry to disappoint but even if romance will be present (quite often actually), it won't be the main focus of this story. This isn't about pillow talks or drama. But love is indeed a strong feeling and I'll make sure to use it as a trigger for more prominent turn of events.**

**-Family: same remark as the romance.**

**-Crime: I warned you the story will get really dark at some point didn't I?**

**-Tragedy: because I can't promise you that none of your beloved characters will die in this story, even the main ones. Yes, death is a reality that I plan to make this story embrace.**

**As far as for rating, you must've already noticed that this is a M rated story. So please beware of the violence, gore scenes and even the steamy mature content! Because I'm sure as hell I'll be needing all of that to make the story progress. And also, I like to have enough freedom, so this is definitely not for kids...**

**Here we go! Live in the moment, Start!**

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**Full summary:**

**Living in the moment. That must be one of the few perks of his carefree attitude. And right now, she couldn't agree more to that lifestyle of his. For it's the reason she's enjoying her happily ever after by his side, along with that little bundle of joy allways tugging at his father's pink locks. And here they both believed that everything they went through before reaching this moment, before finally feeling this completeness, the sadness she felt when younger, the deeds he've done whether he acknowledged them or not, the past… Nothing of it mattered, now that they're together… Until, they were thrown into a chain of events showing them that living in the moment was never going to be that easy again. Especially, when the trigger was, ironicly, nothing but lost forgotten memories, coming back with this mysterious man stepping into their lifes.**

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**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail, or Hiro Mashima for that matter! (thanks a lot Abraham Lincoln...)**

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Chapter 0 : prologue : who needs a perfect family ?

Lucy sighed for the upteeneth time that day, before dropping her head on the bar counter. It's been nearly a month since he's left now and she couldn't help but miss him. She knew she was going to end up moping in no time at all, once he told her about the mission he's been asigned to a few weeks ago, but she never thought it would be so horrible having him away for such a long time. To make things worse, she kept on picturing every possible way for him to get injured, every now and then, thus making her loathe her oh so wild imagination. Quite ironic since she's allways been proud of it when she talked about her novels…

"Lucy, you know he's fine by his own. Wasn't you the one who told me and I quote 'he's the strongest mage I've ever met, of course I love him!' you even sang a song about how much you loved him at that time." And just like that the white haired beauty managed to turn all of Lucy's worries into enough embaressement for her head to make quite the contrast of red and yellow, thanks to her shining blond hair and now burning cheeks. "Mira! I never said such thing ! Okay, maybe the 'strongest mage part' was true but I sure as hell didn't sing!" The said Mira only giggled as her blue eyes met Lucy's brown ones. "oh Lucy dear, you have no idea how bold you get when you're drunk. Not that Natsu didn't actually enjoy a love song as a wedding gift from his lovely bride. "

The barista left with a wink, only to come back with a cup of orange juice after a minute or two. Placing the cup in front of the blond, the later looked up with a startled expression on her face. Mirajane could only sigh a little more audibly then necessary before resuming her conversation with her blond friend. "You've been spacing out again haven't you?" The only response she got was a whispered apology and a sad look. "Listen, I know you wish you could've gone with him but it's not like he didn't have faith in your strength. Hell even if he didn't, he's enough confident about protecting you himself if needed. He just didn't want to leave Jaiden alone. Not that he didn't trust the rest of us to take care of him, but the little one still needs his mother by his side. His _smiling_ mother. Besides, I'm pretty sure, even if he asked you to come along, you wouldn't have agreed knowing you won't be seeing your little Jay for a couple of months, would you?" As a reply Lucy swallowed the whole cup of orange juice in one go before smiling warmly and scanning the guild in search for her little baby.

The little one was looking dumbly at Gajeel's face. A man known to be one of the scariest persons you could ever meet. Noticing the weird look the todler was giving him, the black haired iron mage responded with a deadly glare that could make the must courageous of men cower in fear. His red eyes throwing daggers at the boy as the later started laughing as if he's seen the funniest thing in what short life he had so far. Gajeel, already used to this 'brat' –as he liked to call him– behaviour, only turned his pierced face away while mutering a low "he's as dumb as his father". It didn't go unnoticed to the blue haired woman holding the todler in her lap while reading a story to him –not that he really cared about stories when he had Mr iron monster in front of him. "Gajeel ! Don't be mean. Look how cute he is!" Said the bookworm while ruffling the boys spiky blond locks. He was about to retort, only to be inturrepted by a freaked out mother sprinting like a mad woman towards them. "Levy, Thank god! I was looking everywhere for Jay. Here's my little baby!" She squealed with a high pitched voice making Gajeel's sensitive ears ring in protest, before extending her arms for her year and a half baby boy and starting to cradle him. The little one only kept laughing while pointing a little finger at Gajeel's face. A 'bad manner' –as she called it– that she failed to prevent his father from teaching him. At this point, Gajeel stumbled fuming in the direction of a suscipiously half naked guy sitting at the bar, hoping to let some steam out by picking a fight. A comment about the raven haired man stripping habits was all he had to say for Gray Fullbuster to wellcome his challenger fist first.

Lucy was now looking down at the sleeping baby in her arms. And no matter how much time she's seen this, she's still impressed by how easy it is for Jaiden to sleep while the guild is turning into an open battlefield. For she herself found it quite annoying that beer mugs, chairs, tables and practically everything that could be used as a weapon were thrown everywhere with no care for the damage. Thank god the kitchen wasn't in hand reach, otherwise she could end up empalled by a knife for all she knew. But despite everything she thought, she couldn't help but let a smile grace her pink lips. These rowdy, annoying, loud and even barbarian people were her family after all. The family that allways protected her no matter what hardship she was facing. The family that wellcomed her with open arms in her times of despair. And most of all, the family that her beloved one brought her to on that day that changed her life forever. Yes, they were far from perfect, but she loved them no matter what. Who said you needed a perfect family to have a perfect life ? As far as she was concerned, this is the most perfect life she could ever ask for. She had everything she ever dreamed about, after all. She's a mage, something she allways wanted to be and not any mage. She was a proud mage of Fairy Tail. She had this warm family, this loving and brave husband and now, this beautifull baby in her arms. Hell she even published a few novels by now ! She was officialy living her happily ever after.

The ruckus in the guild started to die off as the woman known as the Fairy Queen Titania stepped into the guild, her scarlet hair falling behind her shoulders and her brown eyes expressing her usual serious demeanor. Lucy noticing the sudden calm looked up only to smile at the site of her friend. "Erza! Wellcome back! How was your mission?" She yelled out urging her friend to come and sit beside her. If her son didn't wake up with the ruckus a few minutes ago, he sure as hell wasn't going to wake up from her calling out for Erza. The knight woman smiled warmly at her friend before heading toward her. "Quite easy, actually. But more important, how is the little champ over here doing?" As if on cue, the little Jaiden started rubbing his eyes before reaching out with eager eyes for the armor clad woman. Lucy let out a few giggles as she handed him to Erza. She already grew accustumed to her son's attraction to strong people and Erza was definitly one of the persons he fancied the most. "He's turning into a splitting blond replica of Natsu by every passing day." Noted the redhead more to herself then anything. _Oh the irony of it._ Thought Lucy remembering the freaked out expression her husband had after their son opened his eyes for the first time. Sure he had expected blond haired children –and was francly releived that his son didn't inheret his salmon locks—but the deep green eyes, almost looking like jade, threw him for a new one. For his own were an onyx shade of black and Lucy's were as brown as chocolate. How in the world, did their son end up with green ones ? And just like that, Lucy started laughing out loud –earning a weird look from Erza who was still busy playing with the todler—as she remembered the next thing Natsu said to her that day "_L-L-Luu-cy… Di-did you cheat on me?!"_.

Lucy kept on reminicing about the happy days that followed her child's birth. From Natsu's hilarious reactions about every single step they took together as new parents, to him looking at her with his ridiculously infatuating toothy grin and saying "_he's got jade eyes, let's name him Jaiden!"_. But for some reason, her memory ended up drifting to a particular time when she was angry about her husband reckless and ridiculously carless attitude…

_"why the hell are you allways acting so carefree! For god's sake you just blow up a town! What's your next target now? The whole fricken planet?!" Much to her irritation he replied with a stupid grin. Of course he would laugh it out, he was an absolut idiot! Why did she even agree when he asked her out? Or to put it in his word 'to be his mate'? "God, chill a bit Lucy… So what if a few buildings got destroyed during the mission? It's not like the town's people can't build them again." She looked at him with a burning glare before practicaly spitting her reply "Oh I know they can. But they're gonna rebuild them with MY RENT MONEY YOU MORON!". He looked at her as if she had grown a second head before resuming "See! That's the problem with you. You allways worry about future stuff like that, we'll deal with the rent when it comes to it! Hell, you even worry about things that are done and can't be changed! Just this morning you were complaining about whether that stuff you wrote was good enough to be published…" He trailed of sighing a bit "Live in the moment, Lucy!"._

Living in the moment. She could totally get used to the idea, now that her present was filled with joy and happiness. And right now, she believed that for once in his entire life, Natsu Dragneel had actually said wise words. Never could she have guessed that the figure standing in front of the guild doors at that exact same moment, would soon make her question everyone of her believes as she discovers that her life was, in reality, way too much far from its 'happily ever after'.

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**I know this chapter was way too short! And I'm sorry about it guys. But like I said before it's only a prologue for you guys to taste the waters before we start diving in.**

**And even though the real story didn't start yet, please feel free to tell me what you think about the whole idea in the box below! And by the way, if you spot any mistake, even the tiniest, please let me know so I can fix them! Thanks.**


	2. Chapter 1

**First of all, I just wanted to thank Critic-san for being the first follower of my story.**

**I have to admit that the lack of feedback (non-existance for that matter) on the first chapter was rather disappointing. But I will keep updating (for now) hoping that the story might end up apealing to more readers, some time soon.**

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**Disclaimer: I don't own fairy tail or any of its characters.**

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Chapter 1 : living in a fairy tale

"Sir, I think you might want to wake up, we've just reached Magnolia." Opening his eyes slowly, he looked for the source of the voice, or rather the annoying noise that kept on disturbing his slumber. Not that he really wanted to sleep after being in a comatose-like state for who knows how long. It was just that the stinging pain in his head still didn't die off despite being awake for a few weeks by know.

Swaying a salmon lock out of his vision field, he slowly limped toward the exist of the train before being interrupted again "Sir, wait! I think you have forgotten your luggage." He looked over his shoulders sending an irritated glare to the poor woman _trying_ to be helpfull, before facing the exit again and replying with a low "I don't have any". He was about to step out of the train before, suddenly, starting to clutch his head as if it was about to explode and growling in pain. The woman rushed instantly to his side sending him a concerned look "Are you okay? You seem to be in so much pain. Is there _anything _I could do to help?" It was only then that he realized why this woman didn't seem willing to leave him alone, anytime soon. Those half lidded lustfull eyes, that tight v-neck showing off her cleavage—that she didn't seem to mind pressing _oh so boldly_ against his back. She didn't even bother hiding her inner needs as she softly stroke his toned arm in a too much _intimate_ manner before she forced his head to face her own, keeping their noses merely inchs apart and breathing directly onto his lips. But much to her dissatisfaction, he gave her a disgusted look making her step back before starting to boil in humiliation. His next words took her by surprise considering the reaction he just had "You know what? You might actually be of some use to me. Of course, as long as you don't mind being _used_, if you know what I mean…". She looked at him with incredilous eyes and a gaping mouth. She knew she was a pretty woman and until now, no one refused her advances, yet along offended her in such a manner. She closed her mouth and opened it again, ready to give this stranger—this totally _smoking hot_ stranger, in her opinion—a piece of her mind, only to be cut off before she could even speak "Before you give me your answer, I should warn you that I can be a little bit… _Rough_ while… Well, you know… 'using' other people". The woman only bit her lower lip before looking him up and down and noding slightly…

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The salmon haired man took a few deep breaths reveling in the feeling of satisfaction washing over his body. His headache was long forgotten by now and he felt that _this_ could keep him going ,at least for today, before he needed more. He then looked down and cursed under his breath at the sight of the naked woman's lifeless body spread over the grass. Thank god, she was dumb enough to follow him to the forest in the outskirts of this city. At least he didn't have to muffle any of her screams. He started scanning throughout the trees searching for anything that could be used to dig deep enough in the ground for a body to be burried, only to end up spotting a cottage nearby. It took him rather by surprise for he thought no one would be living so deep in the forest. But he quickly shrugged it off as he made his way toward the small house.

Reaching for the doorknob, he paused in his tracks, considering the possibility that someone might be inside at that moment. But then again, he was sure that they would've heard the woman screaming, if it was the case, and would've probably rushed to her rescue. He slowly shook the doorknob, only to discover that whoever lived here was stupid enough to keep his house unlocked, so he may as well suit himself…

It didn't take him long to find a scattered chisel and make his way out of the unbelievably messed up place. He quickly glanced over his shoulder at the house he just left, only for his eyes to grow as wide as plates and for him to drop the chisel he just found, before turning completely to face the wooden sign placed in front of the small cottage. How did he miss this when he came in? He narrowed his eyes as he read the sign one more time to make sure his still sore mind wasn't playing tricks on him. "Natsu & Happy" Could it really be? He was sure 'Natsu' was way too much weird to be a commun name at this time, so there was a slight chance that the lead he's been following from since the day he woke up, a few weeks ago, was actually the right way! He then instantly rushed toward the town forgetting the rotting corpse he left behind him. Screw it, he already left a trail of bodies long enough to be caught before, he wasn't going to start being cautious at a moment like this.

As he looked arround him, he couldn't help but notice that this 'Magnolia' town was way too much crouded for his own comfort. But right now, he sure as hell wasn't going to complain about something like that. If anything he was rather gratefull, the more people to ask, the more intells he could gather. With new found resolve, he pushed through the people crouding the first stand in his way, before asking eagerly "Excuse-me, I'm looking for a guild in this town where a salmon haired man is supposed to be working. I don't really recall the name, but it should be 'Fat Tail' or something like that…" The merchant looked at him with irritated eyes before pointing at one of the mirrors he was trying to sell. "I'm sorry but I'm just looking for that certain guild, I have no interest in any of your goods". The marchant's eyes flared even more anger as he shouted "Don't come interrupting people's business to make bad jokes !" He then shoved the same mirror he's been pointing at to the young man's face. The said man replied with a low _oh_ as he understood what the merchant was referring to. He had completely forgot that he was _himself_ a 'salmon haired man'. Not wanting to anger the already boiling seller any further, he simply flipped his hood over his head, making sure to hide his pink locks, and kept walking toward the next store…

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"Fat Tail?" The woman smiled sheepishly as she tried to stiffen a few giggles. "You must be talking about Fairy Tail, it's the strongest mage guild in Fiore's entire kingdom and the protectors of this town. Of course I know Fairy Tail, if that's what you meant" She then proceeded to give him directives to follow. He was about to start heading for the place before the lady practicaly yelled out for him "Oh and by the way, a 'salmon haired guy'? I'm pretty sure you're talking about the one and only Salamander! Natsu Dragneel! Aren't you?" He instantly turned arround to face her with an eager expression "Yes! That's his name! Do you know him or anything about him?" The look she gave him was reflecting some sort of disappointement as she replied "Well, I don't know him personnaly… Though, I wish I did." muttering the last part. "He's one of the strongest mages in Fairy Tail and he's also pretty cute actually. Too bad he was hitched two years ago…". His eyes widened and his mouth droped slightly "He's married?!". The young woman gave a sigh of exasperation as she said her next words "Yes, unfortunately, I even heard he has a kid by know. I personnaly don't see what he likes about that blond chick. She's allways showing way too much skin in every magizine article she shows up in! I know I woudn't even dream about reading them, but I'm pretty sure her books are also mirroring her slutiness! If only she—" And there goes his headache once again, why did she have to talking so much? "Thanks, that would be enough." He quickly interrupted her rambling before turning arround and heading for the guild he's been looking for.

Fairy Tale, so that was it's name? For some reason, that didn't settle good with him. He almost felt suffocated with all this cheery mood he's been spotting all over this town, from the moment he stepped foot into it. And know he's learning that 'Natsu Dragneel' has been living a happy little life with a family of his own—wife and offspring—in a fricken place called _Fairy Tale_? That was way too much far fetched for his taste. He kept on thinking about the matter until a high pitched squeal ringing in his sensetive ears brought him back to earth "Oh my god! They're so cute together! And look at Jaiden in Natsu's lap! He's absolutely adorable!" It was merely a girl surrounded by others—probably friends of hers—as she showed them the magazine she's been holding. It didn't take a genius to figure out what she was talking about, especially after everything he already heard about the _oh so perfect_ Dragneel family in his way to the guild. And even though all this stuff was threatening to trigger his gag reflex some time soon, he took his chance to sneak a peek at the magazine still in the girl's hands. "The princess of the stars, heir of the Heartflilia family, giving birth to her second favorite 'dragon' in the world" He subconciously read out loud before cringing in disgust. So she wasn't only a well known writer, but also some beautiful noble heiress or something like that? He took a quick glance at the todler featured in the image and couldn't supress the laugher escaping his lips, as he noticed the color of his eyes. A jade shade of green... Oh the fricken irony of this rotten unfair world…

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His breathing was still ragged as he tried to come back to his senses. The poor little girl was nothing more but a pile of limbs floating in a pool of blood, by now. But as far as he was concerned, it was her fault for flashing that magazine right in front of his face. He had to let out some steam after that disgusting article. The author must've been damn much oblivious to write all that crap about the 'couragous fire dragon protecting his lovely mate'. No, in the salmon haired man's opinion, Natsu Dragneel shouldn't be living such a life. Not anymore. Not after everything he's done! Another fit of rage took over him as he stomped with all his might on the decapitated head laying on the ground, shattering it as if it was nothing but a porcelean jar. After calming down, he took a glance at his clothes noticing all the blood covering it. Great, now he couldn't leave this alley without being noticed. He really had to start working on his temper if he didn't want to end up caught. But this _need_ that was left unfufilled for such a long time wasn't helping. And the occasional stinging in his head kept on reminding him about it, every now and then. So throwing all this stress and anger he's been feeling since he reached this town into the mix, made him completely helpless, and more importantly _ruthless_. He concidered refraining from going to that guild until he's 'normal' again. But on second thought, he may as well try to speed up that process by letting all of his impulses free for a while. This town was pretty crowded, after all. A few missing bodies won't be noticed that quickly. Making up his mind, he smirked devilishly before heading to the entrance of the alley…

Lucky for him it was already nightfall, so sneeking arround to catch another pray without being seen should be easy enough for someone like him. He just had to make sure to choose a man of his own size and to _not_ make any mess this time, if he wanted to have some new clothes to change his bloodied outfit. As he scanned his surroundings with predatory eyes, his eyesight landed on a raven haired man that could be the perfect target. He took a couple steps and held his breath, readying himself to make his move. But just as the pinkette was about to lash out, the brunette turned to his direction abruptly as if sensing the incoming danger. Their eyes met for a second before the former was already hidden in the darkness of the alley again. "Gray-sama, is something wrong?" A woman, he presumed by the voice reaching his sharpned hearing, asked his escaping pray. "Nothing, Juvia. I just thought I saw someone over there… Covered in blood?..." He answered muttering the last part, though not lowly enough to escape the pinkette's ears. A conversation followed between the pair he's been eavesdroping on and, slowly, their voices faded away. Oh well, there's plenty of fish in the sea, so he may as well let go of this one. But he would make sure to catch the next one…

As planned, he was in no time at all, clad in a new outfit after leaving yet another 'sleeping' figure in the alley. He didn't want to complain much about the outfit itself but those jeans and sticking T-shirt weren't exactly as comfortable as his usuall attire. But he'll have to live with that for now. He kept walking in the direction of the guild with a lowered head as he thought about everything he's done today. This was most certainly the only thing he hated about having his mind finally clear. Every deed he's done starts to sink in as the feeling of guilt tries to conquer his heart. But he refused to let it in, he wasn't _truely_ the one at fault for what happened to those people, after all. If anyone should be blamed for it, it was… His train of thought was suddenly interrupted as he heard a huge ruckus ahead of him. He could easily discern the sound of wood being broken thoughout all the yells he's been perceiving. He looked up only to see an imposing building ahead of him with big sign at its front. It said clearly 'Fairy Tail'. He let a snort escape his nostrils as he noticed with amused eyes that the name of the guild he's been looking for wasn't 'Fat Tail' nor was it 'Fairy Tale', but oddly enough, a combination of both. But whatever the guild name was, the 'Natsu Dragneel' that the town's people were talking about was surely living in a fairy tale. The salmon haired man kept on walking forward and before he knew it, he found himself standing in front of the guild doors. Curiously, his mind wondered to that little todler's green eyes, as his own jade ones took in his surrounding one last time before putting both hands on each side of the double door. "I wonder how you'll react once we finally meet again… Natsu." were the last muttered words escaping his smirking lips, before he took a deep breath and, finally, pushed the guild doors open…

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**I know this chapter might be confusing a bit. But this is an important step of the build up I'm planning for the next few chapters. And if the last scene wasn't enough to make it clear, The character you've been following throughout this chapter was NOT our beloved Natsu!**

**Feel free to live your impressions and critics in the box bellow. Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Thanks for those who reviewed/favored/followed.**

**Please enjoy this new chapter.**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own fairy tail**

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Chapter 2 : Meeting the new member

Lucy Heartfilia officially wanted to die at this moment. No, that wouldn't be enough, she had to completely disapear in order for her embarrassement to be dealt with. Now, what was it that people always expected from the earth at moments like this? Oh yeah, that it would open up and swallow them whole, or something like that. Yeah, that would probably do the trick. But unfortunately, that wouldn't be happening any time soon. And here she was, at the doorsteps of a guild filled with her gasping wide eyed friends, as she stood in front of complete stranger she had _kissed_ merely a few seconds after he stepped through the guild doors. Her mind slowly wondered to the events that lead her to this embarrassing moment, as she tried to recall what kind of stupid thought ran through her thick skull before she—a maried woman holding her child and thinking about her husband— blindly launched herself at a man she still had yet to meet…

Now, if she recalled correctly, she was simply watching, with a smile, as her son marvelled at Erza little re-equip show. The little one seemed fascinated and completely caught up by all the glistering armors of the Fairy Queen. Nothing could've made him turn his gaze away at that moment, for all Lucy knew. Nothing but one thing. His father's return… So it was only logical for her to jump in glee, the second she noticed her squirming son yelling nonesense and pointing at the closed guild doors while reaching out for them, with all what little strengh he had—a reaction he made every time his father was about to burst through the guild doors after returning from a mission. The boy was allways able to notice his father's return before he even made his presence known. And Lucy didn't fail to notice that her son was, actually, gifted with the same keen sense of smell as her husband. Being used to this reaction by know, she didn't think twice before making a mad dash to the guild doors and as soon as they opened and that she was able—despite the blinding sun—to catch a glimpse of pink hair, her lips crashed on her husband's own ones. Or, at least, that's what she thought…

Regaining her senses, Lucy looked up at the man, expecting confused, maybe even offended eyes, as she tried to keep the blushing at minimum. She had by know shrugged off the fact that he had the same pink locks—though shorter—Natsu himself had. To her surprise, he rather had a bored expression, as if he didn't even notice that she just kissed him, a moment ago. He, suddenly, looked down at her with a pair of jade green eyes. Eyes, that she oddly felt extremely familiar with…

"Da! Dadaa!" She looked over her shoulder to her son squirming against Erza's hold as he reached out for this man yelling with all his might. Then it clicked. The reason why she felt so familiar with those eyes, was that they perfectly mirrored her son's own pair. What were the odds? This man had the same hair color as her husband and the same eyes as her son! Curiosity took over, as she completely forgot about the accident that happened moments ago and started taking in the man's appearence. His skin was quite pale—reminding her of Gray's own one. And The tight T-Shirt, he was wearing, was showing a lean yet muscular body. He was actually very attractive, should she be honest.

"What's wrong with that brat?" He whispered irritatedly, probably more to himself. But it didn't go unnoticed to the slightly angered mother.

"Excuse-me, but calling other people's sons brats isn't exactly a good way to greet them. Especially when you just barged into their guild." Her tone was rather lecturing but he didn't seem to flinch in the slightest.

"Nor is kissing strangers a proper way to great them, if we're going to be talking about manners." He responded with an amused smirk reminding her of everything that happened. By the time her mind processed the situation, she was, again, a walking tomato. The guild members were all still silence, still trying to figure out what the hell was happening. For all they knew, Jaiden was crying and pointing at the door before Lucy run like a mad woman toward it, only to end up kissing yet another pink haired man.

The stranger slowly made his way to the scarlet haired woman trying to contain the still crying todler. Holding out his hands, he looked at her before asking her to hand him over. She didn't exactly have a choice since the boy practically jumped to the man's open arms, before finally calming down. He made his way back to Lucy, whispering something to the little boy before handing him to his mother. "It's a bit late for official meetings, after you know… Having already kissed-" _Is he doing this on purpose?!_ Thought the blonde as she fought another wave of heat threatening to reach her cheeks. "-but you're Lucy Heartifilia right? I've heard about you on my way here. My name is Ricon-" He trailed off for a second as if thinking his words through. "Rick, just call me Rick. So, where can I find this guild's master?"

"I'm over here, my boy. How can I help you?" Makarov, who's been observing the whole scene, finally decided to make his presence known.

"Could we speak in private, please? I was hoping I could have a word with you." He answered with a serious tone. It was clear that this man didn't drop by to simply say hello, but Makarov concluded that he wasn't of any threat concidering how Jaiden took a liking to him so fast. The todler might be very young, but just like his father, he had really sharp instincts.

"Of course, follow me, my office is just upstairs." And within a few seconds after that being said, all the guild members could hear the clicking of the door leading to Makarov's office, as he closed it behind the both of them…

* * *

Lucy droped her head on the counter, _again_, before shifting her head to look at the blue haired girl sitting beside her. "I feel horrible! I just cheated on Natsu!"

Levy, who was sitting beside her blonde friend, simply rolled her eyes as she replied "You're making a big deal out of nothing Lu-chan, it was just an accident."

"Accident or not, what am I supposed to tell him? He'll be furious anyway!"

At this, the blue haired woman abruptly turned to look at her as if she was growing a second head.

"What? Is there something on my face?" Was the blonde's answer to her friend's strange glare.

"You're not telling him anything, Lu-chan! Have you forgotten what happened to that poor client who failed to notice your ring, the last time you guys went on a mission together? We don't need another article about 'Fairy Tail sending innocent peoples to the hospital' and he sure as hell don't need to know about this."

As much as she hated to hide even the tiniest things from him, Lucy could only admit that Levy was probably right. So she simply droped the subject and decided to completely forget about the matter. She simply hoped that this man would've left by the time Natsu came back home.

As if on cue, the door to Makarov's office finally opened again, gaining the attention of all the intrigued mages scattered arround the guild hall, including the local stellar spirit mage who was partially the main cause of all the commotion. A clearing of his throat was—for once—all it took Makarov to gain the attention of everyone present in the guild.

"I'd like you all to officially meet Rick over here. Starting from today he'll be a new member in our guild. I trust you all to treat him as a part of our family, from now on."

Of course he was joining the guild! With the luck she's been having lately, she was surprised she didn't run into a speeding train by now! Well… Maybe she was overreacting, but seriously, she _just_ wished for him to leave, for god's sake! Not that she already hated him or anything, but the guy sounded only as more trouble then she could handle, right now.

"Where do you want your guild stamp to be printed?" Mira, who had in the meantime slowly approached the 'new member', asked the later with a gentle smile gracing her lips.

"I don't know, you tell me. Right or left? Which one of your ass cheeks do you want me to stamp with that shit you're holding?"

Lucy's jaw—as well as everyone else's—almost hit the floor as she looked with wide eyes at the angry looking pink haired man, who was by now storming out of the guild after practicaly ripping the door out of it's frame. Yep, he was definitely trouble. Now that she thought about it, he seemed rather suspiciously angry from the moment he left the master's office. What did they even talk about in there? Why did he even want to talk in private if he simply wanted to join the guild? Why was he acting so rudely? Where was the smug man who kept on teasing her earlier? Wasn't he the one to have the decency to introduce himself before addressing her earlier that day? The questions kept on swirling inside her head as she yelled out with no regard to her irritated tone "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH HIM?" She then made her way to Makarov, intending to squeeze what happened inside the office out of him.

Makarov, in the other hand, was, himself, looking at the door with wide eyes and a slightly open mouth. "Anger must be a family gene, or something like that." He muttered lowly to himself as Lucy—who was by now standing next to the old man— frowned at his remark.

"What was that?" She asked looking at him with slightly suspicious eyes.

"Nothing, dear. Would please wake Mira from her shock and tell her to just postpone the stamping for later?" He said pointing at the still frozen white haired barista.

"Yeah… About that, why was he angry in the first place? What happened in _there _?" She asked quickly, failing to hide her eagerness and the curiousity eating at her insides.

"Nothing that needs to be mentioned. He simply told me about his little… _Story_. Then I told him he was wellcome to join the guild. I simply didn't see any reason why he couldn't, so… You know the rest…"

Needless to say, that this answer didn't convince the young mother yet along satisfied her raging curiousity. Not in the slightest. She took a quick glance at the white haired bar tender whom she was recently assigned to 'take care of'. Noticing that the said bar tender's siblings—Lisanna and Elfman—had already taken it upon themselves to calm their sobbing older sister, she decided to keep Makarov her main focus, for now. Though, this time, she decided for another approach.

"You still don't see any reason he couldn't after _this _?" Her tone was rather sarcastic, as she hinted to the recent events that took place leaving two siblings tending to their depressed sister.

"Gray already made Mira cry countless times before, she'll get over it don't worry." He looked up at her with a grinning face saying clearly _drop the subject you're not getting anywhere_.

Curse stubborn old geezers! Fine! She'll give up, _for now_. But she'll sure as hell get to the bottom of this, somehow… Though steeling a saint wizard's, such as Makarov, thoughts using her spirit Gemini was certainly out of the question—considering his way much higher magical power compared to her own—but that didn't mean she couldn't try with the cause of her struggle himself. Even if it was by force, she won't stop until she get what she wants…

* * *

Dropping her head on her pillow, Lucy let out a muffled scream of exasperation, before rolling on her back and staring blankly at the roof of her room. Her plan was a complete utter failure. Gemini wasn't able to be of any help, probably because this 'Rick' person was stronger then she was. She had found him wondering arround the city while she was making her way home along with Jaiden. Of course, the later was _again_ the reason she's been able to notice the pink haired man. But this time, she didn't fall for it, avoiding her another unwanted kiss with a stranger, but that was beside the point.

More importantly, He had quickly noticed her little attempt with Gemini and asked her—and she's quoting—to 'mind her own business'. Stubborn as she was, she of course kept on following him. Much to her surprise, they quickly found themselves engaging in some idle chit-chat. It's not that his company was unpleasent or something like that, it just took her by surprise for she never would've guessed—considering his cold demeanor—that he was the talkative type. Soon enough, she was so caught up in her own yapping that she ended up forgetting why she was following him to begin with. She hated to admit, but the damn bastard had actually outsmarted her with his little 'friendly chat'. He was able to vanish quickly after excusing himself and all she did was wave dumbly at him before resuming her way home…

As she continued to count all the reasons that made her question her own intellect, Lucy's eyes trailed througout the room she shared with her husband. All negative thoughts were slowly forgotten and her scrunched up face soon turned into a serene expression, as she recalled the day Natsu had brought her to this new appartement. He had grown astonishingly more mature, ever since they had their first born. Their new appartement being bigger, with an extra-room for their growing son, was of course more expensive. But he simply took it upon himself to go on more missions and even made an extra effort not to destroy anything in order to allways get the full reward. No matter how she would look at it, parenthood had radically changed the both of them, but they wouldn't have it any other way. Jaiden was a gift given to them from haven. Too bad her late mother didn't have the chance to meet him, she was sure she would've loved him.

She stood up making her way to check on the toddler sleeping in his room but ended up switching her track as the knocking on the door made known the presence of her late night visitor. Who could be knocking at her door at such an hour? Could it be that Natsu finally came back and wanted to surprise her? She quickened her pace until reaching the door before yanking it open. Pink! That was all she needed to see before Launching herself at the man in front of her while yelling "Natsu!" with no care whatsoever. She just missed him way too much to give a damn.

"You just never learn, do you?" She quickly pushed back and took in further the features of the man standing before her. Pink hair, check! Onyx eyes… Oh dear lord…

"What the hell are you doing here at such an hour? How did you even know where I live?! " She all but yelled as he looked at her with amused green eyes. Oh, how she wanted to wash that smirk out of his face with good old punch, right now…

"Greetings to you too. Thanks for inviting me in, I won't take long of your precious time. I'm sure you were busy doing something productive and not just wondering arround and moping about your husband before I arrived." His tone might've been sarcastic, he actually had a point. With a sigh, Lucy stepped to the side while mentioning for him to come inside.

After he settled in her couch, she excused herself to go get them some drinks. They might've started from the wrong foot, she was still a well mannered lady and felt the obligation to be the perfect host when she had to entertain a guest. However, he quickly stopped her from heading off to the kitchen. "That won't be necessary. I wasn't joking when I said that this won't be taking too long."

She took a seat in front of him and looked at him with expecting eyes. "Well? What do you have in mind? Don't get me wrong, but you don't exactly seem to be the drop by kind of guy."

A chuckle escaped his lips, before he answered. "And you don't seem to be exactly the straight forward kind of girl, considering how you've been… _Sneeking arround_ instead of directly asking what you wanted from me this whole day. Yet, here you are asking me to get straight to the point… Well, by all means, I just want you to stop being so _curious_ about me, to put it simply."

"I'm sorry, you just came here to tell me to stop being curious? You know people can't just change who they are just because you don't like it." She was smiling rather proudly at her smart comeback. He, on the other hand looked at her with a raised eyebrow, before sighing and mumbling something about nosy women and how she was lucky he couldn't kill her. Of course, she knew he was joking about the last part. Or at least, she hoped so…

"Fine, if that's the case then I guess I'll have to satisfy your curiosity. But first, you'll have to promise me something. I don't know where I heard about that crap, but apparently stellar spirit mages can't break their promises, for some reason. Can they?" Indeed, vows and promises were the key—no pun intended—of stellar spirit magic. Contracts were merely a manifestation of that principle. He already knew that. Besides, he wasn't really going to tell her anything _compromising_ in the first place.

"Well, you seem to know us well. So what's the deal?" She was literalry at the edge of her seat by know. She didn't know what it was about him that made her so curious—well, maybe the pink hair—but she was itching to know _anything_ about him. And here he was, ready to satisfy her curiosity. How could she say no to that?

"First, you won't tell anyone anything about what I'm going to tell you. Second, You'll ask whatever you want but I will only answer the questions I deem fitting. Third, and this is the most important part, you will completely drop the matter concerning me once we're done. You won't be asking anymore question and you'll simply leave me be. Am I clear enough?" His tone was rather demanding and she even noted a slight irritation and maybe a bit of anger in it. Maybe she was, indeed, prying on other people's business. Maybe she even went a bit overboard with her constant attempts to figure him out. Maybe she should rather apologize and stop being so nosy. Well… Key word is 'maybe'. She knew it was _maybe_ wrong, but she'll get what she can and then, just like he asked, drop the topic for good.

Noding her head slightly to signal her understanding, she took a deep breath as she thought about her first question. What did she want to know about him in the first place? Now that she thought about it, she knew nothing about this man and was simply intrigued.

"Who are you?" The second her question left her lips, she felt like the dumbest person to ever have stepped inside this living room—and that was saying something considering that she was sharing the place with Natsu, of all people.

"Seriously? You were following me arround like a lost puppy the whole day, just so you could ask me that? I think I should be going then." He was beyond exasperated, she could clearly see it. But he couldn't just leave now! Not before she got something out of him first!

"N-No! I meant why is your hair pink?" _What is wrong with me_ _? _Was the first thought to crossed her mind as she realized that she probably made things even worse…

He started to make his way to the front door but she quickly stopped him. "Just three questions. No more. And you don't have to answer them." She was—much to her own surprise—starting to grow desperate, at this point.

With a sigh, he sat back. "You have ten seconds to drop the first one. And you better don't ask me why my eyes are green." The sarcasm in his voice didn't go unoticed and so was the fact that the said question actually crossed her mind, at some point. Thank god, he warned her…

"Why did you want to join Fairy Tail?" Of all the questions swirling inside her brain, this seemed, in her opinion, to be the most apropriate one to ask. It was a simple question, yet it could lead her to knowing more then she was asking for.

"I didn't, that old geezer asked me to join and I presumed it wouldn't hurt." Now this made her even more suspicious. Why would Makarov invite random people to join the guild when they clearly—judging by this man's reaction about the guild mark, earlier that day—didn't give a damn about it?

She thought about asking him about his conversation with the guild master. But considering that he specificly asked for it to be in private at that time, she presumed that she would be only loosing yet another question with no satisfying response—if he even answered at all. So she opted for another approach "Why did you _come_ to Fairy Tail, then?"

He kept silent for a moment. He seemed deep in thought, before he looked up at her. The expression he had on his face was rather suprising for a huge smirk was dominating his features. His eyes were shining with something she couldn't put a finger on, but it definitly wasn't good. But the mischief he was showing wasn't even close to the shock his next words left her in.

"I came looking for my brother." The words were pronounced as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. But that didn't keep the sentence from looping inside her head over and over again, as she finally put the pieces together. The pink hair. Her son's reaction to his smell. The reason why that same son had eyes that didn't even start to relate to his genitors. The reason she kept on having this feeling in her guts that made her so curious about this man… No, there's no way that _he_ is the brother this man was looking for… Right? She kept on recalling everything that happened from the moment she met him, trying to find if she has missed any clue, _anything_ that could lead to another potentiel 'brother', until her mind wondered to the words that were partially the reason for her struggle _"Anger must be a family gene, or something like that"_.

"Oh my god…" She said as she finally started to regain her composure.

He turned his gaze—that by now was lingering in bordom on the window—back to her, before smirking again. "Oh, you're finally back! I was starting to-"

"YOU'RE NATSU'S BROTHER ?!" No, she couldn't keep it down any longer and she was thankfull that her son was—just like his father, again—a heavy sleeper. This was HUGE for her. Her husband was an abandonned child raised by a fricken dragon! She already grew accoustumed to that idea. But NEVER, did she even think that his family would show up one day, compeletely out of no where!

"Geez… Couldn't you yell a bit louder? I think half of this city still have to heard you yet." His voice was, once again, laced with sarcasm. But he seemed to be enjoying her reaction considering his smirk and the amusement that suddenly regained his features.

"Is this why you were able to track down my house? You're another one with a freaky dragon sense of smell?!"

"Okay, first of all, I did follow your sent here, but what's with the dragon crap? And What made you think that I was talking about him of all people? This Natsu's your husband right?" He added, deciding to toy with the young woman for the time being. Though, he really didn't understand what she meant with the dragon part. She, on the other hand, was far from amused by this situation. Was he joking or something? She looked at him with a face that said clearly _are you serious?_, before she practically snapped at the man sitting across from her.

"YOU HAVE PINK HAIR, FOR GOD'S SAKE!"

"Good for you, two plus two… I think we're done talking, so I'll be taking my leave, now." His voice might've been low, his tone wasn't less snappy then Lucy's. The later quickly took the hint and started to apologize.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude or mention your hair color. I know Natsu hated when people talked about this subject. 'It's salmon!' he would yell at anyone who brings in the topic." She trailed off with an awkward laugh. "I guess I was just shocked about this… revelation…" She trailed again looking at the man who was supposedly related to her husband.

"It's not that. I'm not _him_ and I couldn't care less about what people say about my hair. It's just that… My hair color reminds of someone I'd rather forget."

"You mean… Natsu?" Of course, that was the only person she could think of. Hell, he was the only pink haired person she knew! Well… One of the _two_ only persons, from now on…

"No, it's not him, it's…" He trailed off with a confused expression on his face. Why was he telling her this? He didn't know it himself. When he decided to tell her that he was Natsu's brother, he only did it because he thought it could help him later on with what he was _planning_ for the said 'brother'. He never intended to start opening up to her and he sure as hell wasn't going to! "Just… Forget about it. And yes, the answer to your third and final question is yes, I'm Natsu's brother."

"I never asked you that question! I still have a third shot!" She didn't, she only meant it in a retorical way and there was one last thing bothering her so she absolutely needed her third shot!

"You didn't? You actually asked the question so loudly, I'm pretty sure any living soul in the neighborhood could testify for my cause." He was getting tired of all of this and starting to seriously regret his decision to fill her in about his relationship with Natsu.

"Okay, fine! But I'll be asking anyway. Feel free whether to answer or not."

He turned back on his track to face her compeletely. "Did you already forget your promise? You _oh so honorable_ stellar spirit mage?"

"I didn't! And I won't tell anyone about this. But if your Natsu's brother then you _are_ my friend and Jaiden's uncle for that matter! I won't be prying on your life anymore, but as your friend I'll be requesting your honesty. So… Why did you lie to me about your real name?" She was a hundred percent positive about this. The hesitation he was showing when he told her his name was all the proof she needed. She looked at him and noticed the slight widening of his eyes and she knew it… She was right!

"Lucy Heartfilia… You're really an interesting character, you know that? But you're way too smart for your own good. The name I go by is, in fact, no other then 'Rick'. That's actually the name my… _Friends_ used to call me. So if you really want to be my friend, I suggest you to live with that." And with that being said, he quickly left the house before she even had the chance to utter another word.

Lucy just stood there for a moment, looking at the closed door, as she tried to process everything that she discovered. Natsu had a _brother!_ A brother that was now a new member of the guild. She, then, started wondering what would be his reaction if he were to know. Not that she was going to tell him after her promise, but still. She knew family, _real_ family, was a touchy subject for her husband, even though he made a great job at hiding it.

With a sigh, she droped down on the couch. She knew she should be happy that Natsu's 'long lost brother' came back looking for him. But for some reason, a voice, deep inside of her, kept on telling her that this was nothing to be happy about. That, in reality, something terrible was about to happen…

She quickly shrugged the feeling off and started making her way to her initial destination before she had this unexpected visitor. Her sleeping son had waited enough for his mother to come check up on him, in her opinion. Besides, if Makarov himself was trusting Natsu's 'brother', she shouldn't question it any further.

Needless to say that, at that particular moment, the young mother had no idea about what fate was planning for her. Nor did she know that she'll be, in a near future, cursing, with tears strained cheeks, the day she had met her newly found brother in law…

* * *

**So? How was it?**

**Oh and by the way, I'm sure you guys are itching to see Natsu step into the scene. But this developpement between Lucy and Rick had to happen before Natsu's return.**

**Don't worry though, ****in the next chapter, we'll finally get to meet Natsu!**


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